Postcards from the Past — Ciudad Juarez in 1939

What do Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua and Brimfield Massachusetts have in common? Precious little, save for one important link: tianguis, or open-air markets. Here in Massachusetts, Brimfield — about seventy miles west of Boston — is famous for thrice-annual open-air “antique” fairs held in May, July, and September. And it was at the July fair, accompanied by my good friend, “G,” where I encountered a set of postcards from the late 30’s from Ciudad Juarez. Given my love of all things Mexican, I couldn’t pass them up, and for a dollar they were mine. And now, for free, they’re yours too.

Cover: A Bird’s Eye View of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua

Though I can’t date the postcards exactly, based on the pictures of the cars, my official “point estimate” is 1939. And cards, in plural, doesn’t quite describe the set accurately. What I got was a folded piece of paper, with a long strip of folded paper inside, printed on both sides with 18 images plus the two on the cover for a total of 20.

The pictures themselves appear to be a mix of hand-colored photographs or drawings made from photographs, in that kind of faded old-postcard color. The subjects include various scenes around town, vendors, and quite a number of pictures of various aspects of bullfights.

Given the ups and downs poor Juarez has experienced since 1939, I thought I’d try to do some “virtual tourism” via Google Streetview to see if I could find the same sites today. Surprisingly, I managed to locate a number of them, and learned a little bit about Ciudad Juarez in the process.

Until recently when it became too dangerous, Ciudad Juarez had a reputation as a place to go for wild times. Though the US went through prohibition, there was no restriction on the flow of tequila in Juarez. And the city became famous for nightclubs, brothels, gay bars, and other illicit pleasures that were not available in more puritan America.

According to Lonely Planet: The Revolution devastated the Mexican economy, but Juárez began its boom years around this time thanks to the USA’s Prohibition era (1920–33). Thirsty Americans came from far and wide to enjoy Juárez’ lively entertainment, both illicit and classy, and even when beer came back many Americans continued to live it up south of the border.

So I present to you the postcards from the past, and a comparison with the present.

Avenida Juarez, Looking Toward Bridge to El Paso

Below, I think the second building on the right is the same as in 1939, though no longer a theater. Most of the rest of the buildings look newer.

Avenida Juarez, Looking Toward El Paso, TX

Though now the Museum of the Revolution on the Frontier, the old Customs House is a handsome building and remains largely unchanged.

Old Customs House, Ciudad Juarez

Unfortunately, the park next to it is long gone.

Old Customs House, Now Arts Center, Ciudad Juarez

The old shot shows the Mission in the background, but I was somewhat confused looking for it. On Streetview, you can clearly see the Metropolitan Cathedral right next to it, and it looks old, yet isn’t in the post card. A little research revealed that the Cathedral was built in the late 40’s, well after the publication of my postcards.

Here’s the postcard of the Mission.

Misión de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Ciudad Juarez

And below shows how she looks today. I’m thinking the artist of the postcard took some artistic license as the likeness is far from perfect. Note the cathedral is the bigger building to the right.

Misión de la Señora de Guadalupe, Ciudad Juarez

Recall that in 1939, not only had the Great Depression barely ended, but Americans in general were little-traveled. To the author/editor of my little set of postcards, Ciudad Juarez was quite an exotic destination. What follows is the text printed on the inside of the cover.

Juarez, Old Mexico

Pronounced Huáres, this old town is the most famous frontier town in Mexico.

Originally called Paso del Norte (Pass of the North) because above El Paso, and Juarex [sic] Mexico, the Rio Grande flows through the only water pass in the Rocky Mountains. The town was renamed for Benito Juarez after this President and Liberator made his headquarters in the town of Juarez.

Being the principle port of entry into Mexico, Juarez has long been the most important commercial town on the Mexican border.

The atmosphere, architecture, people, and customs of this quaint Mexican city, centuries old and six minutes away from the city of El Paso, Texas, are as foreign as one will find at the end of a 3000-mile ocean voyage. Its beautiful Mission Guadalupe was built with timbers carried on the backs of toiling Indians 100 miles across the desert. In its market place are luscious tropical fruits, hand-made pottery and woven baskets of weird and primitive design. Wax figures that rival the work of a Cellini may be seen, admired and purchased for a few centavos.

Bullet riddled adobe walls bear mute evidence of former revolutions. The Church, the Juzgado, the bull ring and custom house — all are battle scarred. Yet these remarkable people carry on — from behind curtained windows can be heard the sweet music of mandolins and guitars and the rhythmic click of castanets. Intriguing to the occidental mind.

On Sunday one may attend a bull fight. On week days a chicken fight, and the night life — cafes and cabarets are unequaled on the American continent.

You may feel absolutely safe in visiting Juarez, Old Mexico, pronounced Huáres.

This little bit of text is so full of bizarre cultural assumptions, and quaint notions that it’s hard to know where to start a critique. Conveniently omitted is the fact that those “toiling Indians,” were basically enslaved by the Spanish. And “woven baskets of weird and primitive design?!?” How about indigenous cultural artisanry that was, despite the Spanish, still in evidence? And “occidental mind?” As if Mexico were, despite its location on the southern US border, somehow part of Asia? And repeating the pronunciation of “Juarez?!?” LOL. This whole spiel gave me a chuckle.

But the last line rang a little bittersweet. Though the people of Ciudad Juarez remain remarkably resilient, that last line is no longer true. Though I wouldn’t make a dedicated trip, if I were in El Paso, I ‘d certainly like to see the old Centro Historico of Ciudad Juarez. But these days I wouldn’t feel safe doing so.

And I found a sad commentary on that fact in the form of a T-Shirt.

“Missing someone” can have a different meaning than usual in Ciudad Juarez

However, by all accounts, the worst of the violence is over, having peaked in 2010, and I did find a number of newspaper articles to the effect that “Ciudad Juarez is back!” Let’s hope so, for the sake of the folks who still live there.

Though bullfighting is a dying sport even in strongholds like Mexico and Spain, it was likely in its heyday in 1939, and still captures the imagination today. Out of the twenty images in my set of post cards a full five, or a quarter, deal with images of bullfighting. Here’s the old Plaza de Toros, with the mountains of El Paso in the background.

Antigua Plaza de Toros, Ciudad Juarez

The new plaza is much larger, but seems to have been designed solely with pragmatism in mind.

Current Plaza de Toros, Ciudad Juarez

The postcards showing various aspects of the bullfight certainly show the pageantry of the sport.

Bullfight Opening Ceremony, Ciudad Juarez

To me the picture below looks more like a hand-colored photograph than a drawing.

Bullfight in Progress, Ciudad Juarez

And we all know how bullfights end.

The Kill – Bullfight, Ciudad Juarez

And there were also the typical shopping scenes, which are still important today. However, I don’t have any modern-day shopping shots.

What Street Vendors Did Before the Invention of Plastic Tarps

Buying Indoors Was Also An Option

El Mercado. Unfortunately Now Gone.

My postcard refers to Benito Juarez as the “George Washington of Mexico,” though he was Mexico’s 26th president, not the first. Here’s the monument to the man who gave his name to the city.

Monumento a Benito Juarez

In my view, the fence below is not an improvement.

Unfortunately, I was only able to get a side view from Streetview

And if you misbehaved in Ciudad Juarez of 1939, there was a lovely (at least on the outside) public jail where you could spend the rest of your Mexican vacation, perhaps even longer.

Antigua Cárcel de Ciudad Juarez

Online, I searched high and low trying to find out any information about this jail. While I found a lot of similar photos, I could not learn definitively of its fate, though I think it has been replaced with an exceptionally ugly state archive building. If that’s the case, it is extremely sad that they did not at least preserve the facade, as the replacement building is no higher than this jail, so there’s no reason they couldn’t have re-used the facade.

(As an aside, here in Boston we have a very beautiful 19th century jail, next to Mass General, which a few years ago was converted into a hotel named with purposeful irony: The Liberty Hotel.)

Oddly, the one important building that this postcard set did not feature was the Palacio Municipal, now a municipal center for the arts. It sits behind the Mission of Guadalupe, and forms one end of the historic center.

And finally, despite the oddly blonde “señorita” on the cover of the postcard set, there’s also a shot of a more Mexican-looking woman in traditional attire. Unfortunately, there were no such shots of men, unless you include the shopkeeper.

Lovely Señorita of Old Mexico

I hope you enjoyed our little trip back to the Ciudad Juarez of 1939. I certainly enjoyed digging around for new photos and learning a bit more about a city that I’m currently afraid to visit. But Google Streetview, along with the rest of the internet, makes being a virtual tourist safe, easy, and fun.

Hola Francisco! Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for the kind comment! I enjoyed doing the research for the post, and that, along with some reader comments, has made me consider actually seeing CJ one of these days. Saludos!

Very interesting post and interesting what has happened to Ciudad Juarez in the last couple of years. I have had the opportunity to work in El Paso as well as Cd. Juarez in the last couple of months. It has returned to its old self of activity and a hubbub of tourism and economic growth.

The avenues are wide, clean and well-maintained. Unemployment is ways down along with crime, over 65%. The part that grabbed my attention was listening to the local radio from El Paso and hearing spots for events in Cd. Juarez. After closer investigation, it turns out that evenings out, especially weekends have become all the trend among El Pasoans. They cross the border to eat out, visit relatives and see famous Mexican singers and performers as well as those from other countries.

I was very impressed with my visit. It looks like Ciudad Juarez is back. Good for them and good for you for posting these postcards from a beautiful city with art, culture and museums.

Hola Chris! Thanks so much for the update! I’m delighted to read what you just wrote as it was very sad how CJ had suffered in 2010 and thereabouts as the drug gangs ran completely out of control. I have an old friend who lives in El Paso, and now you’ve just given me another reason to visit him. Thanks again for your comment and saludos!

I really enjoyed this post, Kim. Brings to mind a recent great TV series we saw called The Bridge about life between El Paso and Juarez. It only ran for one season, unfortunately. If you ever get a chance to see it…do!

Hola Angeline! That sounds like an interesting TV show. I’ve spent a little time in El Paso in the late 80’s and early 90’s, and liked the city quite a bit. I also walked into Juarez, but didn’t get more than a couple blocks down Avenida Juarez; I’m now sorry I didn’t go a smidgen further to see the sights I’ve presented here. I’ll have to look up that TV series and see if I can watch it somewhere online. Saludos and thanks for your kind comment!

What a nice job you have done! That’s one things we don’t see too many of anymore. I remember every cafe counter having those spinning dispensers having pictures of stuff. I think just tourist hot spots still have them, they probably cost 5 bucks a piece now….
I have a few old postcards from the early 1900’s of Patzcuaro I will have to post one of these days.

Hola Tancho! What with email, text messages, and FaceBook, it seems like people are mailing less stuff in general, post cards included. As for me, my life is filled with good intentions, but failed execution as I have dozens of unmailed postcards in my desk that I’ve collected from various vacations but never got around to mailing. But the fold-out postcards definitely seem to have gone the way of the horseless carriage. Thanks for your kind comment, and saludos!

That was really fun! That strange blondie on the cover looks like a hooker!

The lovely umbrellas that the street vendors were using made me wish that they still did that,but it looks like they actually were located on the road not the sidewalk! Which shows you how much traffic patterns have changed or maybe they were in a plaza?

The shopkeeper in the Charro outfit looks like a woman with short hair to me. I think I see earrings.

Hola Theresa! I’m with you. Those umbrellas seem so much nicer than the horrible blue tarps the vendors use these days. If nothing else, they completely screw up the color of everything. And in my case, they are often too low which forces me to stoop when walking by.
Thanks for your comment! Saludos!

Great post Kim! Norma and I were in El Paso in March of 2012 and ventured over to CJ for new glasses. I researched exactly where we wanted to go, write the address down, walked across the bridge at 9:00 AM and took a cab to the optometrist. It had just opened so we went right in. We had to wait three hours for the glasses to be made and the doctor assured us we would be perfectly safe in the nearby central square. We walked over, strolled around, found a hair cutting shop that did both of us and had a long, friendly chat with two ‘Tourist Police’ on bicycles who wanted to practice their English. While we were chatting with them a Mexican TV crew came over and wanted to interview us which they did with the police acting as translators when we got stuck. It was fun!. We had the impression there were not that many gringo visitors and in fact, we were the only ones we saw downtown. Most of their questions were concerning the reason for our visit, how long we were there for and how safe we felt.

We had previously agreed that we would be on the bridge back to El Paso no later than 2:00 PM and we were. We even had time to stop for a beer and tacos at a stand near the bridge. It was a totally uneventful trip and proved once again that ‘timing is everything’.

Hola Croft! Great story! I have to say, while I still feel nervous about the idea of going into CJ, I do have a friend in El Paso, and maybe if I find myself there, I’ll do some research about what’s going on now. Given what you say, and the fact that crime *has* dropped since the peak (though still quite high by any reasonable standard), I may pop over the bridge one of these years to at least check out the Centro Historico. As you know, there’s a lot of Mexican history in CJ. Saludos and thanks for stopping by!

P.S. I’m impressed by your gumption too! You literally ventured into CJ at or close to its darkest hour in order to save some pesos on eyewear. I admire that, though I’m not sure I’d ever ask you to look after any children, haha. But seriously, kudos for the safe adventure.

Hey Kim, what a beautiful collection you got a hold of! The postcards are superb, and the investigation work you did finding the present-day images of those pictures is both impressive and delightful. I personally love to see old pictures of my city, and as I watch them with great attention I travel to those days and try to imagine what the people are saying, I admire the cars, the pace of the city, the trees — buildings, and streets, and people that are long gone forever. What a wonderful thing would be to be tele-transported to those days! I definitely would like to live at least one full day of those old days, about 1940, 1950… and then come back to the present, how wonderful that would be!
There is a page on FB whose author posts incredible pictures of the old Monterrey. Precisely last nigh they posted one of Av. Zaragoza, taken in the 1970’s, well before the Macroplaza. I shared it with my brothers and it was an instant success, what a myriad memories it brought back.
For those who love Mexico City, there is a series of video clips called La Ciudad de Mexico en el Tiempo. I just can’t express how much I love them.. me, who has never lived in Mexico City — I can imagine how proud the people born there must be. ¡Abrazos!

Hola Tino! Thanks for your wonderful comment! I don’t know if you read Gary Denness’ blog (“The Mexile — on my sidebar), but I think he has posted some of those old videos of Mexico City. And yes! I totally agree with you about how much fun it’d be to go back. I’d love to visit New York City during the roaring 20’s before the stock market crash. It must have been an incredibly exciting and stylish place. And I’d love to have seen CJ during the era of the postcards, when it was posh, stylish, and full of life. (And before they built so many ugly buildings, haha.) Saludos, and thanks again for your wonderful comment!

I was in Ciudad Juárez for immigration purposes from March 30 to April 9, 2006, and again from August 7 to August 16, 2007, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. People thought I was crazy, but it was truly one of the best experiences I have encountered in México, except for the hassle at the U.S. Consulate.

Thanks for sharing your postcards. I have pictures of many of those places and would love to go back and explore the city again.

Hola Cat! Interesting perspective. One of the things I was thinking about while writing this post is the fact that the Google Streetview pictures date from April 2009, a time when violence had risen rapidly. Yet in the Centro, where I was virtually “wandering around,” there were still people out and about doing their business. And now, things are safer, though how much safer I don’t really know. But I’ll bet the people of CJ probably still have the old hospitality spirit within them. Let’s hope that things continue to improve from here. Saludos and thanks for your comment!

Hola John! I had some fun writing this post. Though it was supposed to be a “quickie” — scan some photos, write a little text, and done! — it turned into quite a project. Still, I’ve visited Juarez in the early 90’s, but only ventured a couple blocks (on foot from El Paso) into the city, and so I didn’t see any of this stuff. Now I wish I had ventured a bit deeper. In any case, CJ is more interesting than I thought, and it also played a big role in Mexico’s independence, which I didn’t have time to write about. Saludos and thanks for stopping by!

Hola Bill! It’s amazing to watch things change, no? Whenever I go back to San Francisco, I’m always amazed at how much changes, despite the city already being very built-up. Saludos and thanks for stopping by!

This reminds me of the old MGM “TravelTalks” shorts that Turner Classic Movies shows now and then. They recently showed Merida and Campeche, in circa-1939 technicolor, with gentle hues that resembles those of these hand-painted images. Charming beyond belief, but like you say, fraught with subtext when the narrative is written by one who assumes they are observing an inferior culture.

Hola Lee! Yes, we’ve become a much more worldly culture in the last 70-odd years, haven’t we? I’d have loved to see CJ in its heyday though. It must have been a bit like Las Vegas in a way. Saludos and thanks for stopping by!